Failed software projects costing Australian enterprises millions

Stan Beer
Thursday, 13 November 2008 11:02

Business IT - Security

A survey has shown Australian enterprises are experiencing incredibly high levels of software project failure, with more than half not being completed successfully. At an average of $197,000 per week, failed projects are wasting millions of dollars for already cash strapped companies.

As the global financial meltdown causes IT budgets to be increasingly stretched, botched, re-scoped and canceled projects are wasting around A$197,000 per week, according to a survey conducted by Australian software testing organisation Planit.

Now in its second year, the Planit Testing Index surveyed 210 companies in Australia and New Zealand on their software testing practices. The surveyed organisations were mostly in the finance/insurance, telecommunications and government sectors.

Chris Carter, Planit’s managing director, is also the president of the Australian/New Zealand Testing Board (ANZTB) and secretary of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB). Carter says organisations are still completing just 46% of their software projects on time and on budget, a slight improvement (up from 42%) on the 2007 results.

“There’s no denying the project success rate in the Australian/New Zealand region still has a long way to go, however the Index revealed organisations are starting to seriously look at how they can increase their chances of a successful software project,” he says. “For instance, 57% of companies now rate testing as a critical element in producing reliable software, compared to 50% in 2007.

“This is important to note because companies who view testing as important tend to use advanced testing techniques and methods. These organisations successfully completed 62% of their projects, while companies who undertook testing in a more ad hoc way completed just 32% of their projects successfully.”

While finance/insurance companies lead the pack when it comes to the budget they allocate to testing (24%), organisations in the government sector spend just 14% of their total project budget on testing. Government projects have the highest average budget ($42.2 million).

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